Trials of the Innocent
by Dawnbreaker Dragon
Summary: He was the only one I could trust, the only one to count on when the whole world turned against us. Everyone thinks we did it, even our fathers turned their backs on us. Abandoned, alone. Only we know we are innocent and only we can try to prove it.
1. Chapter 1: Dreskr

**Yo! It's Dawnbreaker, bringing you an original story of mine this time. When I got this idea, I was so excited because it seemed like so much fun I just HAD to write it. It will be something different and I really hope I'll be able to finish it unlike my first two stories (And I don't even plan on finishing the very first one)**

**Anyways, ENJOY!**

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_HICCUP HOORENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD! TOOTHLESS, THE SECOND SON OF THE KING! Since last week you have been prosecuted of the murder of the first son of the dragon king Shadowflare! How do you respond to this?_

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I have known him ever since I was little.

The chief's only son, disappointment of the village and the unwanted second son of a king. We were both failures of our own kind, both rejected by our race and despised by everyone. In fact, there was only one place for us in this cruel world, with each other. Only we could understand what the other felt. We were the two outcasts within the society.

I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a weak and scrawny son of the ever so mighty chief of Berk, Stoick the Vast. According to the viking traditions Hiccup is the name given to the weakest of the pack, the runt of the litter, the one that is not even believed to survive in the harsh conditions of Berk. The smallest and the most disappointing person on the island. And to tell you the truth, that IS a pretty good description of me.

I first believed only humans had this kind of policy of naming their children. That was until I met my best and only friend, a dragon called Toothless. One of the reasons he was given that name was because no matter what he did, he did it worse than his brother, the first son of the dragon king. Or... not only did he do things worse than him but worse than EVERY dragon!

The main reason though was a little different. You see, Night fury children learned to retract their teeth at a very young age and so did Toothless as well. The problem wasn't in pulling his teeth in, it was quite the opposite, he didn't learn how to bring his teeth back out. No matter what he was told and no matter what he tried, he couldn't reveal his teeth again. Even the village healer couldn't find anything wrong with him and the only reason that remained possible was his incapability to do it. His father had been extremely disappointed and hence he gave him the name Toothless. A name meant for nothing more than mockery. He was the disgrace of the ruler family, looked down upon by many and despised by even more.

Ever since his naming Toothless has learned how to bring his teeth back out but it was already too late. He had been cast out from the dragon society, an exile of sorts. He was officially still recognized as the king's second son but in the dragon ranking order he was easily placed on the bottom, just above the criminals and real exiles. Not that his situation was any better than mine.

Born to the Greatest Chief known to Berk and being the only son... the only CHILD to be precise. People had expected a lot from me before my birth, wondering how I'd look like and what I'd achieve. Would I be just as bulky as my father or would I inherit the bravery and decisiveness of a true viking?

They had all been disappointed when I was born. A small baby on the viking scale. A weak baby that was sure to suffer and meet death in a matter of days. It was no good even after I survived. I think it might have even made things worse. A burden to the village with a need for workers and a lack of livestock. A burden for my father, the chief.

The two unwanted. Yeah, the perfect duo.

The first time we met was in the annual second great meeting of leaders. The great hall was a good place to be left unnoticed and that was exactly the thing we were both trying to achieve. In the end that had been exactly the reason why we found each other. Only the invisible one can find the other. The first contact we ever made was when he sent me an telepathic message through a link called _Dreskr, t_elling me to meet him later in a place he showed me in his mind.

The Dreskr is told to be a channel between the minds of dragons and us humans that originates from the agreement of our ancestors. Dreskr is used for communication between the races that otherwise would have no common language. Humans cannot use the Dreskr by themselves, only a dragon can activate and maintain it as long as they wish. There are also known cases of dragon permanently opening the link to a single human so they could communicate at any given time at a far greater distance than with a regular Dreskr. Those links are known as the _Dreúgr_. The Dreúgr are extremely rare because it can also cause a great amount of inconvenience to both who are linked. They may accidentally change thoughts between each other without knowing it themselves. It is told that the two who are linked will also automatically share even their deepest memories and feelings with each other. The link can never be closed but the two can only learn to control it.

The link was made even more unpopular by the dragon _Greenstream_ who formed multiple of these links only to torture humans with them. Constantly sending pictures of pain and misery through it and causing the linked humans commit suicide. This was possible only because he tempted the humans by telling them that he'd show them the road to the hidden dragon treasure that he made up. In the end Greenstream was executed for his faulty use of the link by the united decision of men and Dragons though everyone thinks he didn't mind his execution as he was already extremely bored of life.

There is one another link that is used only for communicating between two dragons. That link was never given a name by the Vikings although it was sometimes clumsily called the 'The-channel-that-dragons-use-to-talk-to-each-other- Link'

Toothless and I have actually talked about forming the Dreúgr many times but we still haven't found the courage to do it. Through the link we would gain access to each other's lives like never before but at the same time that was also a thing which made it so scary. What if we had to watch the other die or get tortured and we had nothing we could do about it. What if the only thing we could share was be the pain we both felt in our hearts? Those were probably the main reasons why we never completed the link and agreed to only communicate through Toothless' normal Dreskr.

I was the only human to have formed even the normal Dreskr with Toothless. That was because he was hated and despised even among the humans as was I among the dragons. The cooperation between the two races is of course a good thing in many ways but it can also cause a lot of pain like in our case.

I picked up and threw a stick toward the closest tree of us and groaned in frustration, leaning against the warm, jet-black body of Toothless.

One of the few things Toothless was ever praised for was his color. No other Dragon could blend in the night like he could. On the other hand, we had made jokes about the color saying the color is only given to him to keep out of sight of everyone who didn't want to see him in their presence.

Toothless growled at me silently without even messaging me through the link. He actually didn't need to. I could tell what he was thinking even without it just like he knew what I was thinking based on my groan.

This is the spot where we always meet and spend our time whenever it's possible. A large, deep and round ridge that was far enough from both of our villages so that no one knew of it's existence. Our homes are just on the far reaches of the Dreskr- link's range so whenever he has time, which is almost always, he messages me and we meet here. Our common policy was to tell each other about the changes in both of our societies. Even though the two races are connected, we still have our own territories so that there would be no accidental conflict between the two and the peace would be easily kept. It is also good for defensive purposes because that way there is less to guard for each territory and the other can help the other quickly if needed.

The only exception for that "Two separate territories and races" policy is the Human-Dragon council that consists of the wisest of both races. They decide about the laws, take care of the trials for the criminals that occasionally appear and do their best to maintain the well-being of both races. The council room is located on the border of both lands on a small island. Everyone knows the place but only the counselors are allowed in. I have been there once but that was only an exception because of my position as the chief's son, although an unwanted one.

The Dragons are in a clear advantage in the council due to their ability to communicate without saying anything. That freedom has been limited to an extent but there is no one to watch over it so it is thought among the humans that the dragons still discuss things without the humans knowing about it.

Not that I really care about diplomacy, laws or agreements. I'm living a peaceful life with Toothless and that's all that matters. One good thing that comes out from being unpopular is that no one demands anything from you and no one is there to force you work. Of course I still occasionally help out at the village forge with a sturdy and humorous man named Gobber who has lost his left arm and his right leg. I think Gobber understands me the second best of everyone I've ever met, including my father, Stoick. To be honest, my father is actually one of those people who understands me the least.

Whenever I have trouble I can't explain to Toothless, I tell them to Gobber. He never really gives me straight answers to my worries but instead puts a hammer in my hand and tells me to start pounding on some chunks of hot iron. I guess it's his way of telling me how even worrying can be productive. I don't know his deepest meaning but so far that has always helped me with the troubles I've had. The rhythmic pounding of the hammer is almost forcing me to think things out and find the answers myself.

He has always been kind to me like no other. Of course he is harsh when it comes to work but otherwise it feels like he truly cares about me.

Oh why couldn't I be born as a sturdy boy who would excel at everything he did. That would be the true son of a chief such as my father. But no, I was born a "fishbone" that no one liked. I have no other friends among my own age although I admire them all greatly. Especially the girl called Astrid is the sole target of my utmost respect. A daughter of one of the most higher-ranking counselors. She has managed to hold on to her position as a highly popular and respected and brought honor to her father's name by just being who she is, a strong and independent young woman.

There other teens' names are Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut. My respect for them is not as great as for Astrid but in a way I still feel certain power floating from them, a power I've never had. Snotlout is a selfish and strong warrior-type whom I've never seen afraid of anything. Fishlegs might be a little chubby but he is still stronger than what he looks. He is also probably the smartest under 20 year old in the entire village and thought to become the youngest counselor ever. The twins aren't smart or strong. In fact, they mostly just argue and fight with each other but the bond between them is quite inseparable and that is what I admire in them.

I never had any siblings and my mother was supposedly eaten by a wild dragon. Yeah.. Wild dragons. Although most of the dragons are in an alliance with men, there are still those who either went completely mad or were raised far away from civilization and were taken over by their instincts. Those dragons now seek nothing but their next meal. They are even known to have eaten other dragons to satisfy their hunger. They were also the ones that took Gobber's limbs from him in an attack many years ago.

Because of those wild dragons vikings are still trained to fight dragons in case of them attacking the village. The dragons' side of the council was against it at first because they thought it might encurage a riot against the dragons when the vikings learned how to fight against them.

In the end the men stood strong on their case and got their opinion through and a law was made in case of any attempts of riots. The law goes something like this: "If any man would attempt to rise against dragons other than the wild ones, they are free to be slain by any other dragon or man as the situation occurs"

The law is harsh but it has been effective and humans are fed only positive information about the dragons and the alliance so that no negative thoughts such as a riot would blossom. There are cases in which there will be an investigation before the punishment for a crime but if the act is obvious, you could literally kill the person where they stood.

I sighed again and stood up, rubbing my head in thought. I glanced over the familiar ridge and listened to the waves of the small pond in the middle. This was so peaceful, I just hope it will last.

I turned my head and looked at my best friend. "Come on bud, let's go back" I said to him, too lazy to focus on messaging him through the link he was maintaining for such a small deal. He nodded and I got on his back, not too eager to go back to the village but also feeling refreshed from being with Toothless and being able to think peacefully.

After all, life as an outsider wasn't that bad after all, if I could say so myself.

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**Yo! As I mentioned this is my first non- community style! fic in a long time and I think it'll be quite nice. It does and will have references to the movie but it is NOT a retelling what-so-ever and you could probably already tell that by just looking at this chapter.**

**Dreskr is a combination of old Norse words _Dreki_ and _Menskr_ which mean Dragon and Human so basically the link is a Dragon-Human-link.**

**Dreúgr also uses the word _Dreki_ (dragon) and also the word _drjúgr_ which means lasting, emphasizing that it is an eternal link created by a dragon.**

**So, review if you liked it, didn't like it or just have something to tell me :D**

**-Dawnbreaker**


	2. Chapter 2: Let the feast begin!

**A lot of strange things happened when I published this story. You see, first my chapter was visible on the front page and everywhere else and suddenly it disappeared from everywhere for a good few hours and only appeared in my 'Manage stories' section.**

**Anyways, the last chapter was a good introduction to how the world I created works and now we'll dive just a bit deeper in the story. **

**Enjoy!**

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_KILL HIM! BURN HIM! make him suffer the pain he caused!_

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The village seemed to be buzzing with action as me and Toothless observed the scene from the top of a tall tree.

Toothless couldn't carry me all the way to the village because his father had forbid him entering the viking grounds. He actually didn't know Toothless and I were still meeting each other. The first time he had found out just a couple years ago, according to what Toothless has told me, he had been extremely angry about it. "_What are you, the son of a royal family, doing with that pathetic human being?!_" He had said.

It was no use defending myself by telling him that I was the chief's son, he already knew that. He just hated me like everyone else. Not that he cared about his own son that much either, he was just protecting his own pride.

Because of that we have been telling all kinds of lies and excuses to our fathers in order to get away for the day, the most common one for Toothless being flight practice. For me it had been mostly training to increase my strength which my father gladly accepted. We actually did both of those things so the excuses we made weren't actually lies but no one still knew that we were doing them together. And if I may put a good word for ourselves, we HAVE improved. I have finally been able to lift the other end of the log that laid in the ridge and Toothless has learned some extremely nifty maneuvers in the air although he could only perform them without me on his back.

Very often our fathers were too busy to even notice that we were gone anyway so the excuses were really just for in case.

"I think I should go down now, how about it" I messaged to Toothless who once again didn't feel the need to respond but just hopped down from the tree, slowing the fall with his opened wings. "See you later today then!" I said and jogged away, turning to watch as he leaped off the ground and darted away. As a Night fury he was already faster than most other dragons due to his naturally sleek body shape and large wings. Even if he was a failure, due to our practice he had actually managed to surpass his brother in speed and was steadily catching up to his father, the king, who was known as the fastest dragon alive. It has been told his mother had been even faster but like mine, his mother had disappeared. Some rumors even said that she had become a wild dragon after going mad from his second son's failures in life.

Those rumors had crushed Toothless for a short time but finally I had managed to help him with his emotions.

Today would be the annual celebration of the date Vikings and Dragons became allies. That was one of the only celebrations of the year when both races gathered in the same place to have a feast and talk with each other. A night for relaxation, mead and new friendships.

The main event of the night would be the revealing of a great meat dish that varied every year. Sometimes it was a big block of whale meat that we sometimes got on our fishing trips and sometimes it was a stack of slowly cooked wild boars. No one ever knew what it would be so everyone eagerly waited for the moment it was revealed. The other events the celebration had were different kinds of competitions between men and dragons that included tests of strength, agility and accuracy, all of these put in both Viking and Dragon scale.

Of course there was also a smaller feast with minor dishes of food and the open chatting area where the most social ones visited to form relationships across the races. All the village bards had all been practicing extremely hard for this night and were out there, presenting their masterpieces alone or in small groups. All in all, it was the biggest celebration during the year where everyone was feeling relaxed, calm and ready to forget all their troubles. Although some may put that one on the mead. Especially the dragon mead was far stronger than any of the viking beverages.

The celebration was also the only event of the year where people and dragons could openly suggest new ideas for the counselors who were all gathered around a great table in one of the rooms during the celebration.

Me and Toothless never really participated in the event. It had never been for us. All the talking, voices and the smells were simply too much for us and we preferred to stay in the less crowded places and quickly get something to eat while the majority of the group had already got theirs. There was one thing that was good even for us during the celebration and that was that we could meet freely without anyone minding it. Or perhaps some would have minded but they were too busy drinking and talking with each other to notice. Not that many people were willing to pay any attention to us in the first place.

Every year we would find an excuse to leave our fathers and meet up behind a large tent close to the village border. No one ever visited the tent during the celebration as it was only meant for cleaning supplies that would only be used the morning after. From there we would make our way on top of a cliff that stretched above the main area of the feast. Far enough for no one to notice us yet close enough so we could listen to what was going on and smell the sweet scents of roasted meat and fresh bread. It was our kind of celebration and the greatest event of the year.

But before the celebration was ready to begin, there was still a lot to be done. One of the most important things being the annual meeting of our leaders and advisers. The Berk's adviser had died just a few weeks ago in a wild dragon raid so there would be no adviser on our side but my dad was confident about his ability to discuss the different things alone.

The meeting of the leaders would take place in the chief's house somewhere around midday when no one was allowed to approach the house except for the village messengers. Other precautions had also been prepared but they were rarely used. And besides, the meeting was also the meeting of the best warriors at the same time so even if someone were to attack, they would need to do it in great numbers in order to inflict any damage.

The Dragon king Shadowflare was the largest Night fury ever born to the ruler family and had earned the trust of his kind in multiple battles against the wild dragons. He had lost his left eye to a wild Shockjaw and his whole dark grey body was covered in scars. Another distinct feature in his body was his tail. The tail was extrememly long and muscular and equipped with an extremely broad tail fin that gave him much of his speed and flight controllability. Even though he looked fierce, it was told that he was the kindest of all kings so far, mostly because he was familiar to the suffering of his people... umm, dragons.

The same could even be said about the adviser. A kind and honest Timberjack. If you met him alone for the first time, you might have thought he was just an old, cunning looking and mean dragon but once you got to know him, he was trustworthy and protective. The perfect shield of the king.

My father always told stories of his childhood that included fierce battles alongside the current king. He would even tell those stories to himself while I wasn't around. It was just like he was telling them to someone else.

Once the meeting of the leaders would end, all of them would come out of the house and hold a small, encouraging speech that was often meant to prepare the villagers for winter. Stoick would talk himself and Shadowflare would use an impressive yet difficult method called _'Area-Dreskr'_ that would spread his words to everyone in a small area. It was impressive because with it you could also send images of your thoughts to everyone, emphasizing the speech greatly.

After that all the preparations would continue and wouldn't stop until the night and the beginning of the celebration.

My time passed quickly while helping out wherever I could and wherever my help was accepted. Mostly the things I did were just little things that were extremely hard to mess up. Those included carrying small amounts of firewood, mixing bread dough or simply observing the other vikings in their jobs and learning their techniques and methods. It was small work but it made me feel necessary nevertheless.

The time I wasn't doing anything else, I went to the forge to help out Gobber who was preparing different decoration pieces to the Great hall. He could have done it easily himself but with me he was able to finish the job a good 2-3 hours earlier. Forging with Gobber was the only thing I was really good at and where I was really able to help out.

Before I knew it, the sun started setting behind the horizon and the flames all around the village were lit. The reason for why the celebration was held in the viking village instead of the dragon grounds was simple. The vikings couldn't just simply get to the dragon grounds. There was a walkway there but it was so narrow that carrying supplies that were needed for the feast over it was almost a suicidal mission, especially for a clumsy viking.

Right then somewhere on the other side of the village someone blew in the large horn to mark the beginning of the celebration. The first part of the event consisted of the dragons arriving in the village and looking around the places, chatting with their old friends.

Soon after that the horn would be heard a second time, indicating that the smaller feast and a part of the competitions were about to start. That would usually happen only after the sun had completely set. That was also the time me and Toothless would meet behind the tent.

The third sound from the horn was the most expected one as then would be the time for the main event, the revealing of the meat dish. The cliff we usually occupied at that point had the perfect view down on the reveal and we were also the first ones to smell the full potential of the meat's scent as the hot air rose from the meat and straight up to our location.

Officially there would be a fourth sound from the horn but often it was forgotten or the one supposed to do it was either too drunk or too lazy at that point to do it. The fourth sound would mark the ending of the celebration and that was also one of the reasons it was "forgotten." An excuse to continue the celebration as long as possible.

...

The first sound of the horn.

All kinds of dragons started descendeding from the sky, landing with varying sounds and styles. Some would land gracefully, not making a sound, where as the others would just stop moving their wings a few meters off the ground and smack down on their feet. Gronckles, Hotpurples, Shockjaws, Nadders, Timberjacks, Changewings and even a few Skrills and many more. So many different dragons but the ones I was looking for were the black ones.

I wondered the scene like I did every year, waiting to see the king and his two sons glide down from the sky. Soon enough I could hear Toothless screaming to me through the Dreskr. **_"We're here! Look up!"_**

He didn't have to tell me twice. I turned my head and looked up. There they were, their dark scales glistening in the light of the setting sun and the breeze whistling past their wings and sleek bodies as they passed over me.

It took me a moment but I finally snapped out of my awe and realized something. Toothless' brother wasn't there.

_"Tooth, where's your brother?"_ I asked.

**_"Nah, he stayed back home. He was feeling a little sick like he always does during this celebration. Maybe he doesn't like social contact?"_ **He replied while he landed and showed me a picture of his brother, laying on the ground in his room.

He actually didn't even look in my direction while showing the image to me so that no one would suspect anything.

_"Well okay then, see you later. You know where"_ I messaged him and it could have been just my imagination but I think I saw a slight spark light up in his eyes. I couldn't send him an image in his mind like he could because that was nearly impossible to all humans. Only a few people have ever been recorded to have been able to send an image via the Dreskr and even they had studied decades for it. Dragons were the masters of Dreskr and they could send images through the link naturally from birth, not needing any kind of practice for it. Sometimes I even felt that Toothless sent me images subconsciously which made listening to him really interesting.

Oh, to be a dragon. To be strong, respected and feared while having abilities humans could only guess and admire. Those were also some of the things I used to make Toothless feel better. No matter how much he was hated, he would still remain supreme to any human being and even most dragons due to him being a Night fury.

...

The second sound of the horn arrived fast while waiting for our meeting and thinking about the possibilities I would have if I was a dragon. It was finally time.

I laid down on the grass and gazed across the dark night sky, listening to the voices of the crowd and the singing and playing of the bards. Food was getting ready, you could smell it in the air. A warm, cozy smell that reminded you of home and the sweet embrace of your mother. A room filled with candles, and a blanket over your body.

Those were just some of the things I was feeling in the cold night, colored by the flames all across the village.

A pitch black sky, greeted by a pitch black body.

_"Toothless, you came"_

**_"Sorry it took a while. As the king's only son here tonight he insisted to present me to some higher ranking human counselor. Hofferson something..."_** He said, showing me an image of an older man that was obviously dressed in counselor clothing.

_"You met the counselor Hofferson?_

**_"Well sure thing I... wait a minute, wasn't that the last name of the girl you are crushing on?"_**

_"I'm not crushing on her!"_

**_"You sure? Because you told me quite a lot about.."_**

_"Sure sure, whatever, who cares. It's not like I could get close to anyone like her anyway. End of story."_ I pouted and Toothless fell silent. We both knew that was true. Forming social connections is hard in our position and even harder if that connection happened to be with a counselor's child or anyone else of higher ranking.

"So, how about we get going?" I suggested and tried my best to send an image of the cliff but failed miserably.

**_"Yeah, sure thing"_** he replied and we started making our way up the hill and away from the event. No one was there to see us, no one cared.

The scenery from the cliff was better than ever.

333 years from the forming of the alliance. A day to remember and an even greater day for celebration. No one was left home and even the sick and elderly participated in the feast and the events. The kids, both dragon and human, running around the place, ignoring the difference in species. The elderly viking chatting with their old dragon friends who were still considered young in the dragon lifespan. Some dragons could live more than 500 years and only change a little in appearance. The oldest Dragon in the alliance was a 249 year-old Hotpurple called Stomp. The oldest Viking on the other hand was a woman called Gothi who never spoke and instead used different scribbles as a means of communication. The only problem was that there were only a few Vikings who could understand them, Gobber being one. No one knew the age of Gothi but some tales tell that she was born just after the execution of the infamous Greenstream a good 124 years ago.

I don't think she is that old but you could never tell by looking at her. Yes, she seemed old like the age itself but her movements were still surprisingly flexible and she was able to live alone in a small hut just outside the village.

I looked over the village and sighed

"It's beautiful..." I said out loud, not really direction the words to anyone. Toothless also realized that and remained silent. "I'll promise you Toothless, one day we will be down there. Not necessarily in the spotlight but accepted as one of them. I promise"

The third sound of the horn

We both instinctively looked down at the large cloth covering the large table.

_"IT IS TIME! THE GREAT REVEAL OF THE DISH EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR! COME, BROTHERS AND SISTERS! FEAST! FEAST WITH JOY AND LET THE GODS SMILE UPON US TONIGHT!"_ The mighty area-Dreskr voice of the king rang through our heads, echoing in the deepest parts of our souls as the meat was revealed. This time it was something extraordinary. A massive pile of meat from the Giant bears that ran wild in the woods of Berk and other nearby islands. The meat was known for it's delicious fats that made the meat perfectly tender and gave it a taste like no other. That meat was rare as the hunting of the bears was difficult, dangerous and the numbers of the bears were scarce.

_"It's still as impressive as ever..."_

**_"Yup"_**

I looked at Toothless and he looked at me. We remained in that position for a few second until both of us burst into a laughing fit.

That moment lasted for a while but when it ended, I immediately noticed three things.

1) The first slice of the fatty meat was cut for the king.

2) A child started crying somewhere

3) A screech of a wild dragon.

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**I'm really happy how this is turning out and I just hope you think so too. Yes, my writing could be better like always but I was talking mostly about the plot ****anyway xD I have this story almost completely planned out and I plan to make it the first personal story I've actually finished on this account.**

**Review your thoughts and suggestions, I can't do it alone.**

**-Dawnbreaker**

**P.S. If anyone of you plays League of Legends on EUW server, contact me through a PM or a review :D Would be fun to create a ranked team for the FF authors or just play with you guys. I also have an NA account but I can't guarantee my ping there (although what I tested it was fine, just a slight 0,05-0,15 second delay or so) and that account is only lvl 2. **


	3. Chapter 3: Speed!

**Okay, as you may notice, I try to update this story every 4-7 days. That way I will have enough time to prepare the next chapter and you guys have something to wait for. And oh, because of these update times, they won't always be on the same time so I would recommend following this story so that you won't miss a single chapter.**

**Story is now rated T because of this and the later chapters. It's not going to be that bad but maybe I'm just paranoid? We'll see. And oh,**

**Enjoy!**

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_You can either kill me or you can let me tell you of something that will fill all of your stomachs for good!_

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The people and dragons below us immediately fell silent as their attention shifted towards the source of the sound.

A dark figure floating in the moonlight screeched again, casting a large shadow on the village. Soon enough the whole sky was filled with dark figures, each staying still as if they were waiting for a signal, quiet as the moon itself.

"DRAGON ATTACK!"

Immediate panic, children crying and women running around. The leading figure let out a third screech and all the dragons by his side immediately begun a high-speed descent towards the village.

"EVACUATE THE WOMEN, CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY!" Stoick shouted, his voice carrying all across the village better than any area-Dreskr could ever do.

"_TO THE GREAT HALL! FOLLOW ME!"_ Messaged the king's adviser, rising in his seat and spreading his wings so that everyone could see him. His area-Dreskr wasn't as impressive as the king's but in this situation it was more than enough to get the attention of the rest of the villagers.

"EVERYONE ELSE, PREPARE FOR BATTLE! GATHER ALL THE WEAPONS! GATHER EVERY PIECE OF ARMOR YOU CAN FIND!" One of the viking generals shouted. "PREPARE THE CATAPULTS!"

In all the commotion I could see Toothless flinching next to me. _"What happened bud?"_

_**"My father is going to fight. He wants me to evacuate with the others"**_ He messaged with a lot of worry in his voice, that is if you could even call the messages through the Dreskr a voice. _**"He is gathering his guards and is planning to fight on the ground, protecting both vikings and dragons."**_

_"But that's almost a suicide! If a he can't fly while fighting he will be in a really bad position! Toothless, we can't just evacuate! Don't you get it? We have to help him somehow! This is our chance! IF we FIGHT with the others and SURVIVE we'll finally be recognized! Toothless! Imagine!"_

_**"I know it's risky for him but I think he will still have enough sense in his head to fly if it is really needed. Besides, even if we helped him... Uhh... what if we DON'T survive..."**_

That comment brought me straight down to earth and we both fell silent again. What if we didn't survive? I hadn't thought of that in the rush. Would it change anything? No one in the village would miss us, no one would even remember us. Even our fathers would just shrug it off in a few days and tell themselves there was better things to do than grieve for the disappointments of the village.

No, even if we evacuated with the others, our situation would only get worse. We were already at a fighting age and we would most certainly be the only ones of our age group not to participate in the battle if we evacuated. The humiliation we would have to suffer. The sons of the great leaders, hiding like little children when the things got a little hotter than usual.

The Figures were getting closer by the second, few of the fastest already swooping across the area and raining down fire on everything they could. We were in a place that served no purpose for the attackers so at least so far we hadn't been attacked.

_"Toothless, listen to me. If we evacuate, our situation will only get worse! We are sons of the leaders and if we were to hide like the others, what do you think that would do to our already small reputation? Even if we die, we will be remembered as nobodies and forgotten in less than a week. We have nothing to lose bud_." I inhaled deeply and tried to calm myself. _"We have to fight. Even if it means risking our lives. It's only going to get worse if we don't._

He seemed to be thinking about it. Silently yet his mind and heart both racing at the speed of sound._** "...We have nothing to lose"** _He whispered to me my own words, showing me images of people that never accepted him. Pictures of his father, brother and myself. He almost cut off the Dreskr completely in his thoughts but soon enough he lifted his head and looked at me.**_ "You're right. We fight. We have to."_**

_"But first we need to get the saddle and a weapon for me." _I replied excitedly_ "If we got you armor it would only slow you down and we know our only hope is to rely on your speed bud."_ I said with an overdose of confidence in my words. Was I acting stupid when suggesting a plan like this? Probably. Was this my worst idea of all time? Supposedly. Were we going to die? Most likely. But we had nothing to lose and nothing would stop us from doing it.

I got on his back and he glided down from the cliff and towards our house while avoiding the wild dragons as much as we possibly could. More precisely, towards the small rock formation behind our house where I kept my saddle for Toothless. We could hear the women screaming and men shouting orders to each other. The first wave of the attack had begun.

Despite being wild, the dragons that attacked the village were not necessarily stupid. Their first wave of attack consisted of stronger dragons like Typhoomerangs and Timberjacks dropping down giant boulders on the catapults to break them. Many of them were shot down or driven away by the dragon guards before they could inflict any damage but some of the massive beasts were able to get past the defenses and create an opening by destroying a catapult or an important building.

The worst case scenario was that one of the boulders would destroy the weaponry or the armory and that's why they were guarded with twice the amount of dragons and men until all the weapons and armor had been contributed among the fighters.

The viking armories held plenty of dragon armor but even they wouldn't stand a chance if a boulder landed on them.

I strapped the saddle on Toothless and grabbed my small sword that could be considered a butter knife among the other swords. I got on without thinking much of a battle strategy. The most important part was to participate in the battle and stay alive. Even better if we managed to slay a wild dragon or two. Or rather, if Toothless managed to slay a wild dragon. I don't think I would be able to help much with my butter knife when it came to a real battle. It would have probably been better if I had a shield instead like Gobber always told me when talking about dragon training. Too late to worry about that now, this was all I had at the moment. This plan was crazy and risky already so a thing like that wouldn't make a difference.

On the other hand, I was neeed because if I wasn't there for Toothless, he wouldn't even go. The useless viking boy has reached a new and higher stage in life, moral support. Hurray...

There must be something I could do. Maybe I could keep an eye for attacks from behind? Just to be left vulnerable from attacks from the front... Even Toothless wouldn't be able to hold off an attacker the size of a monstrous nightmare, especially in mid-air, not to mention taking a fireblast for me. And even if something attacked us from behind, what could I do about it? If I called Toothless it would already be too late and if I tried to block an attack from a dragon with my knife, I would simply just die. It was originally my plan but never before have I felt this useless in my life. Way to go Hiccup...

I shook my head and focused hard on the deal at hand. We would see how it goes when we got in the air.

The first slash of wings.

We were in the air. Strangely feeling more confident than ever before in our lives and the Dreskr between us growing stronger by the minute.

A little more up and we were greeted by a terrible sight. Vikings running around, putting out fires, battling the dragons that had landed and firing huge rocks from the catapults. Even more wild dragons were pouring in the village and there seemed to be no end to their numbers. The leading dragon was still holding his position, watching as his forces ravaged the city of all the food they could find.

The dragon guards were flying as a few squads, attacking lone targets with power and precision and quickly taking them down. This strategy was efficient for taking down single targets but left more wild dragons unoccupied, allowing them to wreak havoc until they were finally constrained by one of the squads or the swords, hammers and bolas from the vikings.

The women, children and the elderly had now all been evacuated to the great hall excluding those women who stayed back to fight with their men. Vikings were all trained physically somehow, may it be hard work or dragon training which most of the villagers went through. Even my dragon training would start this year in a couple of days from now. That is if I lived that long.

I could see my father in a distance, delivering punches with his left hand as his other arm was swinging about a great mace that was his go-to weapon in most cases. He was battling a group of Gronckles and a Monstrous nightmare all by himself and faring surprisingly well when taken into account the difference in size of him and his foes.

A rain of arrows in one place to prevent a wild dragon from attacking behind a group of vikings. Shots of the few remaining catapults to shoot down any dragons closing in. Even the placing of the catapults and the fighting of the allied dragons had been arranged so that no friendly dragon would ever fly in the range of the deadly flying rocks. That was also a good way to tell if a dragon in a certain place was a friend or a foe.

Over half of the village was already burning, the air was visibly filled with toxic gasses, mainly from the wild Zipplebacks who had spread the gas from their other mouths and left it like that without igniting it. The destruction was nothing like in previous dragon raids. This time the attacks seemed more... organized.

We could even see the king battling a small group of Nadders with his gold-armored guards, as expected, taking heavy punishment from the airborne wild dragons while trying to fight them off from the ground.

**_"We have to help them!"_**

_"No! A direct attack would be a suicide for us. You know that! We haven't been trained in it! We have to flank them and get them from the side!"_ I messaged Toothless and tried imagining the plan in my mind as hard as I could. I even tried sending the image to Toothless but failed as usual. Of course I wanted to help the king as much as he did but considering the low amount of training we had received in combat, this seemed like the most appropriate solution.

**"Okay then!"**

He leaned right and dived down to accelerate quickly until finally opening his wings to create lift. We flew a small distance away from the battle until Toothless veered back according to my plan, approaching the king's squad until I almost accidentally spotted two slow Gronckles just outside battle, carrying large baskets of fish with them.

_"Toothless look!_" I basically screamed, pointing at the Gronckles "_They don't know we're here. It's our chance. Take the other down with a surprise plasma blast and before the other realizes what's going on, we attack him head on._" I explained as we approached the two dragons who most likely thought they were far out from the battle. Toothless had slowed down a lot when I screamed and the speed we were traveling with would never be enough to stagger the other Gronckle in a head on attack. _"Come on bud, show me what you've got! Speed!"_

Toothless didn't need to be told twice. Without hesitation he started accelerating and I could hear his tail fin opening to it's full width and saw his wings beating down the wind harder than I've ever seen before. The sudden speed made me dizzy but my other feelings soon overpowered that. The only things I could feel was the ecstasy of an incoming clash and the thrill of speed and excitement. Death? That wasn't a part of my vocabulary right now. I could sense all of this coming from Toothless as well. The will to show what he could do. The will to prove his father of his worth.

The plasma blast connected, taking down the other Gronckle in a bright flash. One down! one to go! The whistling in my ears became almost unbearable as we approached the other dragon for the final attack.

The last thing the other Gronckle ever saw was the color black. A pitch black Night fury attacking from Darkness. The only thing that could have alerted them was the sound Toothless made while flying but now it was already too late. There wasn't two words about the result of that short battle, if you could even call it a battle that is. The impact of Toothless colliding with the heavy Gronckle almost flew me off the saddle and the only thing that kept me on it was the strength I received from the adrenaline in my veins, holding tight.

Razor-like claws digging through the thick and hard skin of a Gronckle. Sharp teeth sinking in the flesh on it's neck and a small nudge to damage it's spine. All that happened in a split of a second. The poor dragon didn't even have time to feel pain as it's consciousness faded away and it smacked on the ground. Toothless leaped off the beast, landing carefully right next to it.

_"Wow! Toothless! I didn't know you could do that!"_ I screamed as hard as I mentally could .

_**"Neither did I!"**_ He shouted through the Dreskr and increased the headache I already had. _**"What just happened? It was like I wasn't thinking at all and gave in to my instincts"**_

_"Whatever it was don't do it when we're alone. Being killed by my best friend isn't really in the list of things I want to experience in life"_

I stared at the body for a while, observing it until I couldn't hold my emotions any longer. _"We did it!"_ I screamed again, my mind almost exploding from the feelings I went through and the sheer pressure I felt from the battle-strengthened Dreskr. _"We killed two wild dragons! Toothless! We did it!" _I waved my hands on both sides of my face, possibly jumping up and down a few times.

An overpowering happiness and amazement. That was what we were both feeling. The relief, being alive and being there together. All of a sudden life didn't seem so hard anymore. Anything was possible! Then it hit me.

_"You know what could make us the village heroes?"_ I asked carefully, observing his response. _"Taking down the leader"_

All I could hear or sense through the Dreskr was eagerness. He was ready. This was the time when the two unwanted sons became heroes! No more pitying, no more disappointed looks! This was most likely the most insane thing I have ever thought about doing but I didn't care. My mind was blurred by the adrenaline and the trance-like state caused by my feelings.

Toothless leaped off the ground, speeding up to the highest speed I've ever seen any dragon travel, eyes locked on his target. This was our moment!

The leading dragon was still just floating in the sky, observing the battle.

My head started throbbing like someone was hitting it with a hammer but I didn't care. The scrawny boy and the pitch black dragon. Final glance at the fight happening in the village. A massive Timberjack on top of the room of the Royal house, fighting another dragon we couldn't recognize from this distance. Not that we cared. We only had one goal in our mind.

A surprise attack, a deadly strike. Glory. Recognition.

The figure was getting closer and we could now tell by it's outlines that it was a Stromcutter. The largest Stormcutter I have ever seen with a wingspan of a timberjack and the claws long like Vikings. Toothless was nothing but a spec of dust for the kinds of that dragon but right then we didn't have time to think about it. Minds set on the ultimate goal, taking down the leader, stopping the raid. The Gronckles were easy, how would this be any different?

Only a few seconds more.

The feeling I had was nothing like I've ever had before. I felt united with Toothless, I felt anger and happiness at the same time. I also felt scared but most of all, ready.

The throbbing in my head got almost unbearable. We were so close! Just a little longer!

Toothless prepared himself to strike and I held out my sword. "NO MORE!"

The impact was heavier than I could have ever imagined possible.

The throbbing in my head peaked as my mind was suddenly torn to shreds, shattered, broken. There was no longer just me, there was something else. Something strange yet somehow familiar. I could sense myself screaming but was it really me? I couldn't move as my mind was attacked by images of excitement, suffering, loneliness and rejection. Nothing more than a target of mockery, disappointment, sorrow and endless pain.

The attack on my mind was too great. The last thing I felt before I lost consciousness was a faint warmth.

A Friend

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**Wow. I actually hated this chapter before I fixed it but now I like it quite a bit! Of course there's still room to improve but who hasn't? I can tell you this much: before the fixes Tooth and Hiccup were both SOOOO OOC that I can't believe how I managed to get them like that. I know they might still be ooc but remember, this is pretty much AU and their pasts are even worse than the original ones and when those built up feelings are suddenly released, you get something like this. (?)**

**Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed and if you did, press the like bu... ok, not that. Although a like button on FF would be kind of cool, a little similar to favorites but not quite. I do still appreciate reviews though (like who wouldn't?) and stories usually tend to become a lot better if you get some feedback on them.**

**-Dawnbreaker**


	4. Chapter 4: Yak feces

**Okay, this took me longer than I thought to update. I wrote it quickly but I was being quite lazy with my double checks and what not. Anyways,**

**Enjoy!**

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_I bet you couldn't even do it_

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It was warm when I woke up.

I slowly opened my eyes, just to be met with nothing more than infinite darkness. I blinked a few times but even then the darkness didn't go away. Even in a sleepy state my mind already started racing and I instantly thought I had become blind. I was holding my eyes open, right? I tried raising my hands to my eyes but for my surprise, they didn't move.

I looked down, which immediately seemed illogical because if I had indeed become blind, what could I see anyway? So instead I started moving my fingers around and to my great joy they moved just like they were supposed to although they were partially blocked by some unknown substance. I then tried bending my wrists in different directions in which I was successful. I started moving my wrists and wiggling fingers around, trying to feel even something that would give me a clue of where I was. Was I in a tight pit with warm ground around me? Or had I been buried in a large pile of yak feces? Or was I possibly in a dragon's stomach?

Well, at least I didn't smell anything so even if it was yak feces, it wasn't fresh. Not that it was very relieving.

Well, at least I didn't feel any pain, at least not yet. Actually the only flaws I could notice in my body were my possible blindness and the fact that I couldn't move any of my limbs more than an inch or so. I tried blinking my eyes once more and tried moving any part of my body that I could possibly move even a little bit and soon enough I could feel the tension around me loosen up as I wiggled myself around.

But then for my great surprise I could hear a loud grumble right behind my head, just like the one which humans' stomachs make. The immediate thought was that I had indeed been eaten by a dragon which apparently digested its food extremely slowly. Just great. A lowly creature like me would get a lowly end like he deserved.

Then I suddenly realized something. Eaten by a dragon... The dragon attack! Where was my father right now? And what about the king? What had happened? Not that I should care. If I was really being slowly digested by some obviously large dragon to fit in it's belly whole, why should I be concerned of others? They never were concerned for me except for Toothless... TOOTHLESS!

I panicked that instant. What had happened to Toothless? I can remember we were flying really fast and that I had had the worst headache of my life. But why were we flying again? I can't even remember right now. Just thinking about it made my head hurt. At least first I THOUGHT that thinking about the events caused the headache but after a while, I realized the pain in my head was really getting a lot harder even when I wasn't thinking about it.

"Aww come on! Will you just stop! I'm trying to think other things here!" I mentally screamed to my headache. Yeah, like I could scream it away.

**_"Ugh... Hiccup, will you please quiet down a bit, I'm trying to sleep here you know..."_** I could hear a familiar voice in my head but before I could realize anything, my mind was suddenly filled with a vast arrangement of blurry imagery of dragons, large halls and plenty of meat and more surprisingly, images of myself. I also somehow felt even sleepier than before. I shook my head as much as I could and managed to lose some of the sudden visions that crowded my head but what I couldn't lose was the strange sudden sleepiness.

"Wait... Toothless?" I thought and started to wiggle again, trying to free myself from the grip of whatever I was in. if I could hear Toothless in my head this powerfully, that must mean he's somewhat close.

_**"Will you stop moving around... that tickles..."**_

I froze. Tickles? Wait... How am I even talking to Toothless right now? I thought the Dreskr didn't last when you fell asleep and also I wasn't even concentrating on using it. Was I just imagining?

_"Toothless where are you?"_ I tried, this time focusing on messaging him. If the Dreskr really was open, I should be able to send him a message and if it wasn't, I would know because my message wouldn't reach him.

**"Somewhere soft I think... Let me see"** He replied to me. Good, at least I wasn't imagining, at least it didn't seem like I was. I automatically opened my eyes in response to his message and could see a stack of hay blocking my vision and... Wait a minute. I opened my eyes again and saw nothing but black, just like before. But in my mind I could sense an image so powerful that it could even be thought as seen by myself although my vision wasn't quite as sharp as the image in my head.

_"Wait, what is going on? What happened? Toothless, Where are you?!"_ I screamed in thought, trying to focus on messaging Toothless but my mind was too confused to send even the simplest of messages.

_**"Ouch, stop, you're giving me a headache. Stop moving and see for yourself"**_ He messaged me and suddenly I was nearly blinded by a sudden burst of sunlight in my face as the tension around me faded away completely. So I wasn't blind after all.

I stirred my eyes and wondered. I definitely hadn't succeeded in sending a message, it was like he was reading my mind. After my eyes got used to the light, I could faintly start making out the outlines of our environment.

Hay. A lot of hay and a cloudy yet blue sky and a blinding sun.

I spread my arms to feel things around me and came to a quick conclusion that I was sitting on top of Toothless' wing and we had indeed been laying in a haystack. So it had been Toothless and not a pile of yak feces... uhm... those two don't really even compare, how the gods had I thought of yak feces?

I looked up, trying to find any sorts of landmarks but couldn't quite find any. Actually, I thought one of the trees had looked familiar but quickly realized that those trees grew all over Berk so it wouldn't be enough to confirm our location.

Well, at least I knew we were still on Berk because even though the trees couldn't tell us our exact location, they still only grew on Berk as far as I knew it.

_"How about we get a little higher and try to see where we are. It can't be too far from the village because there's a haystack here but I still don't recognize this area."_ I messaged Toothless who replied that he couldn't fly quite yet because I had been sitting on his wing and made it numb.

"Oh, sorry about that. Well, I suppose that's not necessary, we can walk a little as well. There's a hill there, let's go." I said and pointed at an area that seemed to rise above everything else.

I knew Toothless didn't like walking that much, even short distances like that but as he had said himself, he couldn't fly yet so he just had to agree. We slowly made our way to the bottom of the hill and up from there, the scenery turning more and more familiar as we did.

"Oh, so we're here!" I exclaimed out loud. _"I just didn't recognize the place from the ground. This is the place where we went on a few of our flights to collect berries."_

**"Hmph, I figured it might have been"** Toothless messaged me quickly, turning his head a little away from me.

_"You did? Then why didn't you say so?"_

_**"What?"**_

_"What what?"_

**_"I didn't message you. How could you tell what I was thinking?"_** He wondered

"_You weren't? I'm sure you did, maybe you just didn't notice it."_

**_"No, I always notice when I'm messaging you. That's because I have to focus on maintaining the link and messaging you at the same time, I couldn't just slip something to you without first focusing a little on sending it through the link and I surely wasn't"_**

_"What?"_

**_"I'm saying I always notice when I.."_**

_"Toothless, wait. When I woke up earlier one of the first voices I heard was yours. Can you maintain the link while you're sleeping?"_

_**"Not that I know of. I've been told it's impossible because you need a certain amount of concentration to do it."**_

_"Then can you do it first thing in the morning?"_

_**"I don't think I can, especially after waking up, my mind is all blurry for a while after waking up, why? And what's with all these questions?"**_

_"Because I think I woke you up. I was thinking about you when I realized I didn't know where I was and suddenly you replied to me, saying that I should be more quiet."_

_**"...Now that you mention it, I did hear someone who sounded like you shout my name."**_

_"Exactly my point. Are you sure you can't maintain the link while asleep?"_

_**"Positive."**_

_"Then that leaves only one question left. Toothless, are you focusing on maintaining the link right now?"_

_**"Of course I am, how do you think I would be talking to you right now?"**_

_"Ok then, could you turn off the link now? I need to know something."_

_**"Okay, sure, even though I can't understand why. Closing now."**_ He messaged and I could immediately feel the Dreskr fade away like usual. Strange because you couldn't feel it while it was active but when it's gone, you know it's gone.

I wasn't able to think much longer because the slight headache I had suddenly got harder again. I grabbed my head and my mind was soon filled with an image of myself holding my head in obvious suffering and also feelings of concern and sudden confusion.

The headache then suddenly doubled and I could hear Toothless scream, or was it me? I tried looking at the ground but instead I saw an image of two large tree trunks but the image soon returned to the place where I intended to watch, on the ground. I focused all my attention on a shiny red rock and tried ignoring the images that filled my head.

When I was finally freed from most of these images, I braced myself and lifted my head to see Toothless, laying on the ground with his pupils narrowed and front paws on his head. When I saw him, the headache nearly came back but I forced it out like I had last time, focusing on a single object that this time happened to be one of Toothless' scales.

_"Toothless, look at me!**"**_ I screamed at him._ "Focus on my voice alone, don't let the images overpower you! Focus on my voice!"_

After a while his eyes returned to normal and he started breathing heavily, looking straight at me like he had seen a ghost, and based on what I had seen, maybe he had. The ghost of the past.

_"Toothless, can you hear me?"_ I questioned in my mind, directing it to Toothless but not having high hopes because the Dreskr was off.

_**"Hi-Hiccup... Wha-What was that.. What, why, what is happening, what were those images? Why can you talk to me right now? You're not using your mouth and I turned off the Dreskr and I-I... ARGH! It's back! IT HURTS!"**_

Toothless! Focus! imagine an object and focus on it! Do it and the pain will soothe!" I shouted and once again got back some of the pain in my head. I did my best to do as I had before and focus but this time my mind was forcibly filled by pictures of different fish.

We remained in that position for a while, both fighting a battle in our heads. Even after we had defeated most of it, some of the pain still remained.

I panted hard and glanced at Toothless but immediately had to turn away due to a pain spike. Instead, I started talking as calmly as I could.

"Toothless, based on the result I think I might know what this is." I explained. "...And I think you might know it yourself. Think of last night. I bet you also had a headache while we were flying. I think the Dreskr between us grew too strong while we were fighting.

Toothless looked at me for a while, looking absolutely dumbfounded. He gulped like a dragon could and whispered to me exactly the thing I had been thinking.

_**"The Dreúgr"**_

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_**A short one this time but I promise you guys, next chapter is where I'll get things moving for good!**_

_**This chapter is not exactly how I wanted it to be but I guess it delivers the point :D I'll be explaining more about this topic in the later chapters anyway.**_

_**-Dawnbreaker**_


	5. Chapter 5: Forge

**This story is not really getting much reviews but I'm fairly surprised how many visitors and views it has already. Anyways in this chapter the things will finally start going towards the main "trials" that's basically the whole idea of this story (Well, I suppose the Tooth and Hicc have had a few trials already...). The first few chapters have really just been to set this up. I have no idea how long this story will be but my guess is around 13-20 chapters, seriously, no idea.**

**Anyways, Enjoy!**

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_This feeling of suffering is something I cannot ignore. More precisely, I can't._

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Once we finally arrived at the village we were greeted by utter chaos. Even though the dragon attack had already ended, the village had suffered severe damage in the process. Many buildings destroyed and many men and dragons missing or still laying dead on the ground. And of course there were the bodies of the wild dragons as well, spilling their blood on the ground and soaking it up.

Village's first priority was as usual to clean up all the bodies and get them out of the village to be buried or burned, depending on the body. That was to prevent the smell and toxic gasses that would come when the bodies started to rot away. That, and because it was wanted that the children would be spared from such a gruesome and sorrowful sight.

Women had already come out from the great hall to help with the repairs and also to see their loved ones but the elderly had stayed back with the children. You could see some of the less unlucky ones grieving over the bodies of their lost husbands and cursing the gods and wild dragons with all their might. Usually such acts would have been considered unconventional and rash but these situations were different. The village was under chaos after the greatest dragon attack in our generation and perhaps during the entire alliance so it was okay to show your emotions.

We slowly made our way towards the center of the village and the whole time I tried concentrating on even the smallest things except Toothless. If I lost my focus even for a minute, the current link between me and Toothless would get out of control again, causing us to collapse under the pain, feelings and memories of the other.

I can now see why all the warnings about the Dreúgr were made up. they were all true, the inconvenience it brought was surely far greater than I had ever expected. I don't even know if it was any different when the link was formed consciously and not by an accident like we had. In any case, I'm extremely lucky that I found out how to keep the link under some control so quickly and not after a day or a week. That much of Toothless' memories and feelings would surely have crushed me, especially knowing his past.

Toothless had told me that I was now actually able to send some kind of images through the link because when I messaged him consciously earlier, he said he could sense what I was saying just as well as he heard it. I hadn't actually even tried sending him any sorts of images but then I realized that the link must be so much stronger than the Dreskr that I was actually sending them subconsciously like Toothless occasionally would. Not that this newfound ability made me any happier because compared to the pain and suffering the link was able to cause, this ability meant nothing. If it were only for the images I couldn't have been happier but why did it have to come with such side effects. The only way we were even able to communicate at all was that Toothless would form the Dreskr so he had to focus on maintaining it and thus removing a large portion of his pain even though the pain that remained was still almost unbearable. Even then I didn't send messages to him through the link and only spoke out loud.

Besides the fact that I was now able to communicate with images, we hadn't been able to find any more positives about the link. There wasn't a way for us to control the flow of emotions and memories nor was there a way to close the link, just like the stories had told. Well, at least we haven't found that one out yet.

Supposedly the range on the Dreúgr would be much longer than the one of Dreskr's but I really didn't see any uses for that either. We live close enough to each other for even a Dreskr so why would we need more range?

All of these thoughts seemed irrelevant to all the chaos around us but I couldn't help but to think. All these years I've learned to only care about myself and often that lead to me thinking so hard that on the outside it looked like I had spaced out for good and died on the spot. That happened even this time until a sharp smack on my back finally brought me back to the land of the living.

"''Ey Hiccup! It's good to see y're still in one piece!" Gobber exlaimed behind me. "Not that those beasts could ever penetrate the defense of the great hall anyway!" He said after smacking my back again so hard it already started to throb. I looked behind and figured that maybe it was still better that he only smacked me with his hand instead of bashing me with the mace he still had connected to his left arm. "Ahh, Toothless, good to see you too. It's been a while. I heard you were also told to evacuate to the hall. I hope the people there didn't cause you too much trouble"

I was slightly astounded by the way Gobber talked with was too friendly. "You know each other?" I asked quickly, butting in before Gobber could start another sentence. I even forgot to correct his mistake about us evacuating.

"What do ye mean Hiccup? You introduced me to him yourself! Can't ye remember, it was only about 11 years ago!"

"Yeah geez, and I was already four back then, sure thing, I remember everything from I was four. Sure..."

"What? I remember everything from when I was four! I killed my first wil' dragon then! Could be when I was three though..."

"Well some of us haven't really gone through life-changing events like that to be able to remember it. So, what do you mean I introduced him to you?"

"What do you mean you haven't gone through life changing events that young? That's the day you met your first and only friend! And you ran straight to the forge to tell me about it"

"Wait, what? I met Toothless for the first time at the annual meeting of the leaders when I was seven!"

"So you really don't remember, eh? Well maybe I could refresh your memory someday but right now I'll need your help at the forge! The village is chaos as you can see and we need all the men we can get to help in the repairs! Come on! Toothless you can come too, we'll need your fire to keep the metal hot, there's no time to heat up the forge like it should."

Before I could reply anything to him, he was already heading towards the forge, gesturing that we should follow him. I looked at Toothless and shrugged but in the end started making our way to where Gobber was headed. He accepted Toothless like he accepted me. I think I like Gobber more and more as the time goes.

That's when my head was filled with all kinds of thoughts once again. Why couldn't I remember an event like that? I'm sure I would have remembered something that big! Why wasn't Gobber rude to Toothless like all the other humans, have they met even after that? He didn't even say anything about us being together in the village. For other vikings it would have been an outrage. The only reason we could have come to the village together was because we saw everyone too busy to mind us and we knew our fathers would be in the dragon palace, discussing the attack. The thoughts were so intense that my headache almost completely faded even though the thoughts were all about Toothless.

...

The repetitive and dull work at the forge soon released my mind from all other distractions like it always did and I was able to think about everything in peace. The Dreúgr, Toothless and I, the events of yesterday and of course the attack, our fathers and our pasts. I briefly but efficiently went through all of these topics in my head, trying to figure out what was going on.

My thought progress was overall something in these lines.

I met with Toothless behind the tent. The meat dish was bear. A dragon screech. An attack plan. The two slow Gronckles. Speed. Headache. Consciousness lost. Woke up in darkness. First thing I saw was a haystack. A hill. Dreskr turned off. Images in my head and another headache. Images gone away. Got to Berk, everything in ruins. Dréugr thoughts. Gobber. Toothless and I first met before the meeting of the leaders when I was four?

Of course I thought of many other things as well but these were the things that interested me the most. Because of my immense focus I didn't let even a single image from Toothless in my head and I only after I hit my own hand with the hammer I was holding I was freed from the cage of my own mind and I could finally hear what was happening around me.

Gobber was just finishing a hammer he had been making for a while. With a few more hits of his smith's hammer he got the piece in desired shape, cooled it off in water and attached it onto the wooden rod.

"Phew, I haven't been this busy since the day yer mother and Stoick got married! They needed plenty of metal decorations I tell you! It was enough work for me for a good two weeks! And after that they send them all off the island with trader Johan! What a waste..." He said with a small grin on his face. "Well, it's not like Stoick would have wanted any of them in the first place! He was just looking to please yer... uhm... you know... I'm not supposed to talk about her, aren't I?" He said and quickly turned his attention back towards his workbench "Back to work!"

It was indeed a painful subject to me. One of the most painful to be frank. I would have given anything to just see my mother once and to feel loved by her. I hit the hot piece of metal a few times, slowing down with each strike and finally stopping completely.

"I'm taking a break Gobber" I said and removed my smith's apron.

"Okay then, we're almost done for the day anyway." He looked at me. Now that I really think of it, I'm feeling extremely depressed. Nothing's going well in my life. I was aware of all the facts before but I never thought of them as one, just separate cases. Now when I see Berk destroyed, I feel more useless than ever. What am I to the world? A mere spec of dust, no, a piece of the spec of dust, the lowest of the low. The events these past days have only increased my troubles. Not only was my own life miserable, now I had to withstand another miserable life as well if I lost focus even for a second.

I shook my head and tried getting rid of these thoughts instantly because I knew they would most likely kill me in the long run. Think about the positives. You still have Gobber and Toothless and you're always a welcome help in the forge. You do have a small purpose in life. As a friend and an assistant.

I left the forge with Toothless without saying anything else, but after a few steps Gobber shouted back at me. "Hey Hiccup, if it's possible could you two deliver a few things to the arena for me! I still have some things to do here! Would be a great help!"

I sighed but turned around. There was no way I could refuse something Gobber asked of me.

"So, a few shields, three swords and a target practice barrel and a new blade for a battleax. I bet Toothless can carry these easily all the way to the arena." He explained as he loaded the stuff onto Toothless' back

"Yeah I think he can" I said and looked at Toothless but immediately flinched as my headache got stronger. "But what are these for?"

"Ahh, good that you asked. You see these are for dragon training that will start tomorrow! I hope you're as excited about it as I am! I will be your teacher this year, Stoick himself ordered me to! Said something about keeping an eye on you and all."

"What? Me? Why?"

"Whadda ye mean Hiccup? Ye are going to participate as well, don't tell me ye already forgot! As the chief's only son y're are expected to join the fight as soon as possible. Even if no one likes you they still think Stoick's son should do his part. That's why ye'll be trainin' with the other teens startin' tomorrow! You'll be in the same group as the lad y're crushin' on, isn't that great! We even have a few fresh wild dragons we captured yesterday!"

"I DON'T have a crush on her! How many times do I have to tell you? And besides, Yes, I knew about dragon training, I just didn't know it would start so soon!"

"Neither did I! It was decided straight after the raid this night. Stoick held a great speech and all about how it's important to get new fighters to defend Berk as soon as possible in case of other attacks like that. Still have shivers in me back!"

"So you're basically saying we'll start tomorrow?" I said with probably a horrified expression on my face.

"Of course! There's no time to waste for us Vikings. Ye'll never know when it's your turn to leave to the great halls of Valhalla. You'll do fine, relax. And if things start to get ugly, you're so small that ye can easily hide in a barrel or somethin'!"

"Great... Thanks for the encouragement... I'll be going now"

"Okay then, see ye tomorrow!"

We started making our way to the arena, even more thoughts circling in my head than I had had before we got to the forge. Dragon training, forced social contact with people who most likely hated me, presumably a lot of pain. Yeah, love it!

I could hear Toothless groan under the weight he was carrying but I couldn't say anything to him because even without using the link, my focus would still be shifted towards him and probably launch another attack. I silently grabbed the two heavy shields and one sword that I tied to my belt and continued walking, making sure I only thought about the images of the items I was carrying and nothing Toothless related.

We silently made our way to the arena and dropped off the items at the gate but for my horror I noticed that all of the teens were inside, talking around a campfire and listening to the sounds of dragons that came from the cages next to them. How did they even have the courage to stay there! The dragons could have got free any second and tear them apart!

Then I thought about it. All of them had probably already taken part in a battle or two already and all their life they had been fed information of wild dragons and the council and the system of dragons and humans. They felt safe.

I hid behind the corner and observed them with Toothless. I didn't hear what they were talking about but suddenly Astrid stood up and grabbed her ax, holding it before her face before quickly turning to my direction and chucking the ax straight at me.

The movement was so sudden that the only thing I could do was to quickly retreat behind the wall. After the hit I didn't waste any more time but started running away as fast as I could, my legs feeling like soggy yak-milk cheese.

To my fortune no one followed us from the arena. I don't know if they had really seen us or had Astrid just thrown the ax as regular practice. Either way, those were the teens I would be training with tomorrow and if they already possessed skills like that, it wouldn't only be the dragons I need to avoid.

When we got back to the village, I decided to take a risk and try to communicate with Toothless without him forming the Dreskr.

"We should both go home, it's getting dark already." I said out loud, not mentioning Toothless' name and focusing strictly on the horizon. This didn't cause an attack on our minds, good. The small headache didn't even get any worse. It was really sad that I couldn't communicate with Toothless like we used to but at least there was some way. He growled quickly as a response and prepared to take off but was cut off by the most furious sound I've ever heard in my life. It was Shadowflare, the Dragon king.

_**"I WANT EVERY SINGLE DRAGON AND HUMAN BEING GATHERED ON BERK, RIGHT NOW!"**_

Never before have I heard such a powerful Area-Dreskr before. It was like the voice was dripping with feelings of hatred and beastly ferocity. and that wasn't even the worst part. It was the content of his second message a few seconds later.

**_"GATHER UP NOW! I WILL KNOW WHO MURDERED MY SON!"_**

* * *

_**Weren't expecting that, eh?**_

_**I can't promise my next update will be on schedule (in 7 days) because my test week is coming and I haven't really been feeling like writing recently.**_

**_Hope you enjoyed, feedback appreciated!_**

**_-Dawnbreaker_**


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